“I think the East is getting much tougher than it has been in the past,” Lansche said. “We have some tough competition going to the state tournament.

“We have plenty of video to cover on guys they lost to and fix all the mistakes.”

The state championships start Thursday and end Saturday.

3A East Regionals

At Rocky Mount High School

Ryan Davis and John Ellis have been in the forefront for Havelock’s wrestling team all season.

They will now get a chance to chase a state title.

The Rams’ seniors won regional championships on Saturday at the 3A East Regionals at Rocky Mount High School.

They both started out with two pins. Davis, at 132 pounds, edged out Currituck’s Tanner Stephens, 6-5, in the championship finals. Ellis, at 145 pounds, beat Rocky Mount’s Joseph Cooper, 9-5, in the finals.

The Rams finished eighth out of 24 teams, while West Craven came in 11th. Jacksonville won the tournament.

Robert Baker, at 138 pounds, will be West Craven’s lone 3A state representative. The Eagles’ junior took fourth after reaching the consolation finals.

He lost to Rocky Mount’s Rayshawn Elliot, 8-6, in overtime.

“(Robert) wrestled very well,” West Craven coach Thomas Durham said. “I’m ecstatic he is going to state because a lot of guys have that deer-in-headlights look the first time they go to states because of the big venue and setting.

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“I can’t wait to see what he does as a senior.”

Going into the consolation semifinals, West Craven had three guys still wrestling – Baker, Aaron Roach (160) and Cody Cooke (132).

“I was hoping to get three or four guys into the state tournament,” Durham said. “The kids did wrestle well. We had a great first day, but we are still learning how to win those close matches.”

The 3A state tournament runs from Thursday through Saturday in Greensboro.

1A East Regionals

At Princeton High School

Chad Hoff pinned two, then battled to a narrow victory in the finals.

The senior was Pamlico’s only regional wrestling champion at Saturday’s 1A East Regionals at Princeton High School.

Hoff edged out North Rowan’s Brandon Lemmon, 7-5, in the championship bout of the 145-pound weight class.

“He wrestled really well all the way up to the finals,” Pamlico coach Kevin Knox said. “He did what he had to do to get the win in the finals, and that was kind of an eye-opener going into states.”

Connor Hough (160) and Humberto Mendoza (195) both finished second. Hough qualified for state last year as a freshman.

All three will head to the 1A state championships on Friday in Greensboro.

Hough was pinned in 51 seconds in his championship match, while Mendoza was pinned in 5:07 in the finals.

“Connor is a returning state qualifier, but he was a seven seed tonight,” Knox said. “He upset the two and three seeds to get to the finals.

“Humberto wrestled really well. I think that will help me for the state tournament.”

The Hurricanes took only eight wrestlers to regional, yet finished seventh out of 22 teams.

“We have only two seniors, no juniors and the rest were freshmen or sophomores,” Knox said. “We did really well, and the freshmen upset some people and got some good wrestling in.

“I’m proud of my guys.”

Adam Thompson can be reached at 252-635-5669 or at Adam.Thompson@newbernsj.com. Follow Adam on Twitter @Adam_matic.